Headwaters Trail

Welcome to a new trail that connects bridleways, gravel tracks and quiet lanes along moors and valleys shaped by three rivers. 

We’ve called it the Headwaters Trail as the circular route takes you to the ‘head of the waters’ - the source - of the River Calder, the River Aire and the River Don high up on the Pennine moors or what locals call ‘the tops’ and onto the broad floodplain where the rivers merge at Castleford. And then back along the folds of hidden valleys on superb 'off-road' tracks to reach the finish line in the Calder Valley. The trail is 325km long with 4,750 meters of climbing.

There is a short film on the Yorkshire Divide website (and YouTube) showing the Headwaters Trail as it takes you onto sights in both the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the Peak District National Park. On our inaugural event the 100 riders were equally split between riding gravel bikes and mtbs. 

There are three entry options:

1. Bikepacker (£50, or £25 for riders aged 14-25)

2. Bikepacker + GPS tracker (£80)

3. Supported ride (luggage transfer and campsite; £150)

NB: On the event weekend in May there is a ‘short’ route of 250km with 3,300 meters of climbing in addition to the ‘long’ route of 325km and 4,750 meters of climbing.